Otis Redding

• Born: 9 September 1941
• Birthplace: Dawson, Georgia
• Died: 10 December 1967
• Best Known As: Soul singer who did "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

Otis Redding was a black soul singer who died in a plane crash in 1967, just before the release of what turned out to be his biggest hit, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." Redding grew up in Macon, Georgia, where he became a hometown favorite because of his passionate performances. In 1962 he recorded his own ballad, "These Arms of Mine," a minor hit that gave him credibility as a recording artist. Redding had more than a dozen hits on the R&B charts, but crossing over to mainstream pop proved more difficult, despite popular covers of Sam Cooke's "Shake" (1967) and The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" (1966). His performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival boosted his profile with white audiences and Redding was well on his way to becoming a superstar, as both a performer and songwriter (he wrote Aretha Franklin's hit "Respect"). But on 10 December 1967 Redding's private plane crashed in Lake Monona outside Madison, Wisconsin, killing him and four members of his backing group. His other hit songs include "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "Try a Little Tenderness."

• Born: September 09, 1941, Dawson, GA
• Died: December 10, 1967, Madison, WI
• Active: '60s
• Genres: Rhythm & Blues
• Instrument: Vocals
• Representative Albums: "The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1," "The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 2," "Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding"
• Representative Songs: "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the," "Try a Little Tenderness," "I've Been Loving You Too Long"

Biography

One of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s, Otis Redding exemplified to many listeners the power of Southern "deep soul" -- hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, and an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads. He was also the most consistent exponent of the Stax sound, cutting his records at the Memphis label/studios that did much to update R&B into modern soul. His death at the age of 26 was tragic not just because he seemed on the verge of breaking through to a wide pop audience (which he would indeed do with his posthumous number one single "[Sittin' On] The Dock of the Bay"). It was also unfortunate because, as "Dock of the Bay" demonstrated, he was also at a point of artistic breakthrough in terms of the expression and sophistication of his songwriting and singing.

Although Redding at his peak was viewed as a consummate, versatile showman, he began his recording career in the early '60s as a Little Richard-styled shouter. The Georgian was working in the band of guitarist Johnny Jenkins at the time, and in 1962 he took advantage of an opportunity to record the ballad "These Arms of Mine" at a Jenkins session. When it became an R&B hit, Redding's solo career was truly on its way, though the hits didn't really start to fly until 1965 and 1966, when "Mr. Pitiful," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "I Can't Turn You Loose," a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction," and "Respect" (later turned into a huge pop smash by Aretha Franklin) were all big sellers.

Redding wrote much of his own material, sometimes with the assistance of Booker T. & the MG's guitarist Steve Cropper. Yet at the time, Redding's success was primarily confined to the soul market; his singles charted only mildly on the pop listings. He was nonetheless tremendously respected by many white groups, particularly the Rolling Stones, who covered Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is" and "Pain in My Heart." (Redding also returned the favor with "Satisfaction.")

One of Redding's biggest hits was a duet with fellow Stax star Carla Thomas, "Tramp," in 1967. That was the same year he began to show signs of making major inroads into the white audience, particularly with a well-received performance at the Monterey Pop Festival (also issued on record). Redding's biggest triumph, however, came just days before his death, when he recorded the wistful "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," which represented a significant leap as far as examination of more intensely personal emotions. Also highlighted by crisp Cropper guitar leads and dignified horns, it rose to the top of the pop charts in early 1968.

Redding, however, had perished in a plane crash in Wisconsin on December 10, 1967, in an accident that also took the lives of four members from his backup band, the Bar-Kays. A few other singles became posthumous hits, and a good amount of other unreleased material was issued in the wake of his death. These releases weren't purely exploitative in nature, in fact containing some pretty interesting music, and little that could be considered embarrassing. What Redding might have achieved, or what directions he might have explored, are among the countless tantalizing "what if" questions in rock & roll history. As it is, he did record a considerable wealth of music at Stax, which is now available on thoughtfully archived reissues. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Live in London and Paris Buy this CD	Respect [Rhino] Buy this CD	Otis Redding [Tin Can] Buy this CD	Dreams to Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding Buy this CD	(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay and Other Hits Buy this CD
Essentials Buy this CD	Shake and Other Hits Buy this CD	Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 Buy this CD	Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding Buy this CD	Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding Buy this CD

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singer; songwriter

Personal Information

Born Otis Redding, Jr., on September 9, 1941, in Dawson, GA; died December 9, 1967, in Lake Monona near Madison, WI; son of Otis, Sr., (a part-time preacher); married Zelma Redding in 1959; children: Dexter, Karla, and Otis III.
Education: Attended Ballard High School, Macon, Georgia.

Career

As a teenager worked as well digger and gas station attendant; sang on the road with Little Richard's former band, the Upsetters; appeared at Macon's talent show at Douglass Theatre, 1959; went to California to record in 1960; returned to Macon and performed in bands such as Little Willie and the Panthers and later with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers; recorded first hit single at Stax/Volt records in Memphis, 1962; recorded at Stax for next five years and toured nationally; formed own the Jotis label and took part in the European Stax/Volt tour, 1966; performed at Monterey International Pop Festival in June of 1967; earned a posthumous million-selling record in 1968.

Life's Work

In December of 1967 Otis Redding's private plane crashed into the icy waters of Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin, killing the famed singer who landed his only number one hit and Grammy award- winning record, "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," posthumously. Before his tragic death, Redding emerged, during the early 1960s, as the creator of a unique vocal style and one of the decade's greatest soul performers. Backed by the house musicians of Memphis' Stax/Volt record label, he recorded a wealth of titles which continue to find their way into the repertoires of soul and rock performers. By the late 1960s, Redding brought the music of his humble Georgia roots to the concert stages of Europe, building an international audience that influenced musicians from America, England, and the African continent.

Otis Redding was born on September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia, one of Otis Redding Sr.'s six children. At age three Redding moved with his family three hundred miles north to Macon, and settled into the Belleview housing project, known to local residents as Hellview. Not long after, Reddings' father--a part-time preacher employed at nearby Robbins Air Force Base--moved the family into a small shotgun house. After fire damaged the residence, the family moved back into Macon's housing projects. During his early years in Macon, Redding sang in a gospel group, played drums in the school band, and performed piano at local talent contests. His early vocal influences included Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Little Willie John, and Hank Ballard. Though Cooke remained a musical role model and an example of an independent black businessman, Redding later expressed, in The Life and Times of Little Richard, his debt to his fellow Georgian Little Richard, "I entered the music business because of Richard--he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his Rock 'n' Roll stuff, you know. Richard has soul, too."

By the time Redding entered Ballard High School his father was frequently hospitalized from the worsening effects of tuberculosis. To help support the family, he dropped out of school in the tenth grade and worked as a well-digger and gas station attendant. His passion for music, however, led him to land a more lucrative employment with Little Richard's former band, the Upsetters. In 1959 Redding performed at a local talent show, "Teenage Party," held at Macon's Douglass Theatre and broadcasted live on WIBB radio. Singing in "a modified Little Richard style," Redding emerged the show's weekly contest winner. In Sweet Soul Music, guitarist Johnny Jenkins later recounted first hearing Redding at a "Teenage Party" performance, "I heard Otis at the Douglass, and the group behind him just wasn't making it. So I went up to him and said, 'Do you mind if I play behind you?' Cause he didn't know me....Well, he sounded great with me playing behind him." Not long after that Jenkins and Redding began to perform together at small venues.

While playing the Douglass Theatre, in 1959, Redding met his future wife Zelma. In the following year, the twenty-year old singer left for Los Angeles, telling Zelma that he was destined for stardom as a recording artist. In the liner notes to The Definitive Otis Redding, Zelma recounted, "When Otis went to California to record I was three months pregnant with Dexter {the couple's first son}. He said he was going to be a star." Though she had initial doubts concerning Redding's musical career goals and the promise of marriage upon his return, Zelma stood by her determined boyfriend. On the west coast Redding recorded for the Finer Arts label, a session that included the 1960 single "She's Alright," by Otis Redding and the Shooters.

Redding returned to Macon in 1960 and performed with Little Willie and the Panthers, managed by local white rhythm and blues impresario Phil Walden. Not long after, Redding became a featured guest singer with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers. Backed by the Pinetoppers, Redding recorded the 1960 single "Shout Bamalama" for Bobby Smith's Confederate label (later renamed Bethlehem), a number which, despite its receiving radio air play on WLAC, failed commercially. In 1961 Redding married Zelma, fulfilling his earlier promise to a woman who would prove a life-long source of affection and support. Convinced of her husband's burgeoning talent, Zelma worked various jobs to support the family. "Otis enjoyed every minute of his life," recalled Zelma, in the liner notes to The Definitive Otis Redding. "He had his own mind about what he would dream....He didn't complain. If it was fine, it was fine. If it wasn't, it was, 'It'll work out.' That's what he'd say. 'Oh, it'll work out.' And that's how he kept himself going," she added. Redding's determination to become a full-time professional singer, according to Geri Hirshey in Nowhere to Run, caused him to be "fired as a lot attendant for singing in parked cars" and also lose a job as a "hospital orderly for vocalizing in the halls."

Redding's perseverance, however, soon earned him local fame. He continued performing as "Rockhouse Redding" with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers, in 1962, appearing at halls and college dances. As a result of the Pinetoppers' local hit "Soul Twist," the group was invited, upon the intercession of Atlantic record's regional talent scout Joe Galkin, to record at Memphis' Stax Studio. In October of 1962, Redding, upon the urging of promoter and booking agent Phil Walden, drove the Pinetoppers to their Stax recording session. During the last half hour of an unproductive Pinetoppers' session, Redding despite the protest of several band members, gained permission to record his numbers "Hey, Hey, Hey" b/w "These Arms of Mine." Though "Hey, Hey, Hey" revealed a strong Little Richard influence, The b-side number "These Arms of Mine"--written by Redding--emerged a soulful ballad which exuded a tormented sense of yearning. Redding's recordings fell under a deal in which Stax agreed to promote the records for fifty percent of the publishing rights, and release the albums on the company's newly formed subsidiary Volt label. "These Arms of Mine" found commercial success through the efforts of Nashville disc jockey "John R" Richbourg whose airplay of the song on WLAC radio broke it into the R&B market.

Nine months after recording "These Arms of Mine," Redding, who had already ventured beyond his imitative vocal period, returned to Stax studio, and over the next five years enjoyed a nearly ideal creative and financial working relationship with the owners, staff, and musicians at Stax/Volt Records. As Peter Guralnick noted, in his work Sweet Soul Music, "With {Redding's} arrival Stax entered a whole new phase ... that made Stax a byword in soul circles, that would eventually open up the world of Southern soul to a large- scale white audience." In All The Years of Popular Music, David Ewen pointed out that "Redding not only helped to create soul, but he was also responsible for producing the "Memphis Sound." As Guralnick stated in Sweet Soul Music, "Otis Redding was the heart and soul of Stax Records."

At Stax studio in 1963, Redding recorded with the company's talented house band: Booker T and the MG's, a racially diverse group which included organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, drummer Al Jackson Jr., and bassist Lewis Steinberg (soon replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn). Unlike other modern studios of the period, the Stax formula did not employ the use of multi-tracking or overdubs. At Stax the staff and the company's musicians encouraged an improvisatory approach by its artists--what the house musicians often termed spontaneous arrangements. Redding greatly benefitted from the interplay of the MG's and the Mar-Keys horn section. In his work The Sound of the City, Charlie Gillett observed that the band's strong rhythm afforded Redding "to stay close to it without emphasizing every alternate beat, as was the current treatment in fast songs. When he did come in hard with the band, the effect was exhilarating." Redding benefitted from the talents of his manager Phil Walden who had first heard the singer on the "Teenage Party" radio show, and became the first promoter to take notice of the young singer. Through the management of Walden and his brother Alan, Redding played a string of nightclub dates throughout the South.

By 1964 Stax released a number of Redding's single sides such as "Pain in My Heart" (patterned after Irma Thomas' performance of Aaron Neville's number "Rules of My Heart"), "That's How Strong My Love Is," and "Mr. Pitiful," co-written by Redding and Stax guitarist Steve Cropper, who would prove a tremendous asset in the playing and authoring of Redding's music. In January of 1964 Stax/Volt released Redding's debut album Pain in My Heart, and, in March of the same year, followed with The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (both works culled material from Redding's previous singles). September of 1965 saw the release of Redding's Otis Blue, Otis Redding Sings Soul, a work considered, among many popular music critics, as the decade's finest soul record (Otis Blue also emerged as Redding's first album to reach the charts in England). Dedicated to Redding's idol Sam Cooke who died in 1964, the album contained covers of Cooke's "Shake" and "Change Gonna Come," and included three original songs: "Ole Man Trouble," "Respect," and his masterpiece ballad, co-written with Jerry Butler, "I've Been Loving You Too Long."

With first rate back-up musicians and a first-rate management team, Redding's career quickly gained momentum. By 1966 he launched his own new record company Jotis and acquired a 300-acre ranch which stabled several horses and a small herd of Angus cattle. In October of 1966 he recorded his album Complete and Unbelievable ... The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, which featured such classic numbers as Redding's "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa Song, co-written with Steve Cropper and, "Try a Little Tenderness", both of which have emerged as popular music standards. The album Dictionary of Soul, wrote rock critic Jon Landau, "was the finest ever to come out of Memphis, truly one of the finest pop recordings of the decade." In his work Nowhere to Run, Gerri Hershey concurred, "Otis Redding was never more clearly defined than in his 1966 LP Dictionary of Soul."

In January of 1967, Redding teamed up with Memphis singer Carla Thomas to record the album King and Queen. On the album's cover of bluesman Lowell Fulson's "Tramp," Redding and Thomas engage in satirical dialogue, with Thomas, posing as Redding's mate, dismissing him for looking "... country, straight from the Georgia woods." That same year, several of Redding's concert were captured on albums such as the 1967 Otis Live in Europe, recorded on the 1967 Volt/Stax European Tour. In June of the same year, Redding performed Northern California's Monterey Pop Festival. Singing to a crowd of fifty thousand hippie generation "acid trippers" exposed Redding to the largest white audience he had yet to encounter during his career. The festival's program was divided into a 'pop' performance on Friday, a Saturday night show featuring California bands, and a closing appearance of 'superstars' on Sunday. Black R&B acts like Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, and African trumpeter Hugh Masakela were booked at various intervals throughout the weekend. Taking the stage Redding and the clean-cut looking MG's and Mar- Keys launched into the fast-paced opener "Shake." According to the film Remembering Otis, Redding asked the audience, "Y'all the love crowd, right? We all love each other, am I right? Let me hear you say Yeah, then!" After rousing the crowd, he launched into his masterpiece ballad "I've Been Loving You Too Long."

In the fall of 1967, Redding underwent an operation for polyps on his throat and took three months off his busy schedule to convalesce at his Big-O ranch. While he enjoyed his time off from the road, Redding was earning worldwide praise. In October, the British music magazine Melody Maker named Redding as "Best Male Vocalist," replacing the previous seven-year consecutive winner, Elvis Presley. In early December of 1967, he took part in a Stax session which yielded his original number "(Sittin' On) The Dock of Bay." After completing the session, Redding and his back-up band, the Bar-Keys (a unit which superseded the Mar-Keys horn section), boarded a plane headed for a concert date in Madison, Wisconsin.

On December 9, 1967, Redding's twin-engine Beechcraft airplane crashed into Lake Monona, killing the singer and all but one member of the Bar-Keys. At Redding's funeral held in Macon's City Auditorium thousands of fans filed pass his coffin to give their last respects. At the service Booker T. played the organ and Jerry Wexler gave the eulogy. As Wexler later recounted in Rhythm and the Blues, "There was something pure about his personality, calm, dignified, vibrant ... Stardom never changed him. He had a strong inner life. He was emotionally centered." Wexler continued, "Redding was one of those rare souls who saw beyond color and externalities; he dealt with you as a human being, not as white or black or a Christian or a Jew. His intelligence was keen, his curiosity high, and despite stories to the contrary he was anything but the cliche' of the backwoods boy come to the big city. Otis knew what was happening."

Redding's death also left an impact on fellow musicians like James Brown, who, months before Redding's death, had talked with Redding and Solomon Burke about forming a black-owned entertainment company. "{Redding's} death was tragic to me," stated Brown, in his memoir Godfather of Soul. "I knew him from way back in Macon when he was just a kid .... I'd see him out on the road, and we always talked about how much we missed Georgia," he added.

Otis Redding "believed in communication," commented Jon Landau in his work It's Too Late to Stop Now. "Every device and technique he created was designed to further his communicative potentiality," he added. His music evoked a simple yet powerful directness, premised on the ability to reach his fellow man in honest message and delivery. "Otis worked in simple, black," explained Redding's guitarist and co-songwriter Steve Cropper, in Nowhere to Run. "The man would make Gerschwin sound greasy." In the decades since Redding's death his music still communicates a sense of self- liberation and the need to overcome loneliness, the travails of lost love, and the barriers of a mainstream society which could no longer ignore the proud and talented voice of black America.

Awards

"Best Male Vocalist, Melody Maker Magazine, 1967; Grammy award, for "(Sitting on) The Dock Of The Bay", 1968.

Works

Selective Discography

• Pain in My Heart, Stax/Volt, 1964.
• The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, Stax/Volt, 1965.
• Otis Blues, Otis Redding Sings Soul, Stax/Volt, 1965.
• The Soul Album, Stax/Volt, 1966.
• Complete and Unbelievable...The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, Stax/Volt, 1966.
• King and Queen (Otis Redding and Carla Thomas), Stax, 1967.
• Live in Europe, Stax/Volt, 1967.
• The Dock of the Bay, 1968.
• Otis Redding/The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Historic Performances At Monterey International Pop Festival, (recorded 1967) Reprise, 1970.
• Recorded Live: Previously Unreleased Performances, (recorded 1966), Atlantic, 1982.
• The Best Of Otis Redding, Atlantic, 1985.
• The Otis Redding Story, Atlantic, 1987.
• Good to Me: Recorded Live at the Whiskey A Go Go, Vol. 2, (recorded 1966), Stax, 1993.
• The Definitive Otis Redding, (CD Box set), Rhino Records, 1993.
• With Others The Stax/Volt Revue: Hit the Road Stax, Volume 3 Live in Europe, (recorded 1967), Stax, 1992.
• Films Remembering Otis, (filmed at Monterey International Pop Festival 1967) Pennbaker Associates, 1986.

Further Reading

Books

• Brown, James with Bruce Tucker, James Brown the Godfather of Soul, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1997, p. 177.
• Ewen, David, All The Years of American Popular Music: A Comprehensive History, Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977, p. 682-683.
• Gillett, Charlie, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, Outerbridge & Dienstfrey, 1970, p. 271, 277-279.
• Guralnick, Peter, Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom, Harper & Row, 1986.
• Hirshey, Gerri, Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music, Times Books, 1984, p. 337-344.
• Landau, Jon, It's Too late To Stop Now: A Rock 'n' Roll Journal, (includes essay "Otis Redding: King of Them All"), Straight Arrow Books, 1972, pp. 155-159.
• White, Charles, The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Quasar of Rock, Harmony Books, 1984, p. 220.
• Additional information for this profile taken from the liner notes to The Definitive Otis Redding, edited by Jaimie Wolf, (includes various essays) Rhino Records, 1993.

— John Cohassey

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